The Facts of Reconstruction eBook

This action, no doubt, resulted in the defeat of General
Grant for the nomination; for it was a well-known
fact that his nomination was possible only through
the enforcement of the unit rule. His friends
and supporters, however, under the leadership of Senator
Conkling, made a strong and desperate fight with the
hope that the tide might ultimately turn in their
favor, but with the intention, in any event, of preventing
if possible the nomination of Mr. Blaine. General
Grant’s name was placed before the Convention
by Senator Conkling in one of his most eloquent and
masterly efforts.

“The man whose name I shall place in nomination,”
he said, “does not hail from any particular
State; he hails from the United States. It is
not necessary to nominate a man that can carry Michigan.
Any Republican can carry Michigan. You should
nominate a man that can carry New York. That
man is U.S. Grant.”

Mr. Blaine’s name was placed in nomination by
a delegate from Michigan by the name of Joy.
His effort did not come up to public expectation.
The eloquent speech of Senator Frye, of Maine, who
seconded the nomination, made up in part for the public
disappointment in Mr. Joy’s effort. The
name of Secretary John Sherman was placed before the
Convention in one of General Garfield’s most
powerful and convincing efforts. It is safe to
say that the speech delivered by General Garfield
on that occasion made him the nominee of that convention.
After drawing an eloquent and vivid picture of the
kind of man that should be made President,—­with
the intention of naming John Sherman as the man thus
described,—­he asked in a tone of voice that
was pitched in a high key:

“Who is that man?”

The response came from different parts of the hall,
“Garfield.”

And sure enough it was Garfield. After a number
of fruitless ballots it became apparent that neither
of the three leading candidates could possibly be
nominated. Very few, if any, of the Grant men
would at any time go to either Blaine or Sherman.
Very few, if any, of the Sherman men would go to Blaine,
while Blaine men could not in any considerable numbers,
be induced to go either to Grant or Sherman. While
a number of Sherman men would have supported Grant
in preference to Blaine, there were not enough of
them, even with the Grant men, to constitute a majority.
When Garfield’s name was suggested as a compromise
candidate he was found to be acceptable to both the
Blaine and the Sherman men as well as to some of the
Grant men, who had abandoned all hope of Grant’s
nomination. The result was that Garfield was finally
made the unanimous choice of the convention.
The New York delegation, being allowed to name the
man for Vice-President, nominated Chester A. Arthur,
of that State.

Although General Garfield was nominated as a compromise
candidate his election was by no means a foregone
conclusion. The Democrats had nominated a strong
and popular man, General W.S. Hancock, one of
the most brilliant and successful generals in the
Union Army. Associated on the ticket with him
was a popular Indiana Democrat, William H. English.
It looked for a while as if Democratic success were
reasonably certain, especially after the September
State and Congressional elections in the State of
Maine, the result of which was virtually a Democratic
victory.